The Beautifully Tragic Life
by Hikari Kurayami
Summary: Yuna finally found Tidus, the love of her life. Rikku is jelous of her having Tidus. BUt when Yuna dies unexpectedly, will Tidus and Rikku be able to go on? Will Rikku be able to fill the hole in Tidus' heart? Or will Gippal claim her?
1. The Death

The sun shined brightly upon the small island of Besaid. Children ran about, playing with each other, while the adults watched their children and chatted with each other. But all came to a stop as a small group of girls entered the village. "Lady Yuna! Lady Yuna!" Little children yelled as they ran over to her. Yuna giggled slightly as she knelt down by them, patting their heads. "It's good to see you too."

Wakka and Lulu walked out, their child in Lulu's arms. "It's nice to see you again, Yuna." Lulu said calmly as he baby boy began to cry. "Hush," She cooed as she walked over to the wooden bench and began to sing to him. "Hey, Yuna!" Wakka began to say, "What took ya so long?"

As Yuna began to speak, Rikku drifted off into thought. Rikku loved her cousin to death, but she envied her greatly. _I wish I could be more like her..._ The main reason why the young Al Bhed wanted to be like her older cousin was Tidus. Secretly, she adored him, but she didn't like the fact that Yuna loved him, and he loved her back.

"Rikku...Rikku!" Paine said as she waved her hand in front of her Rikku's face. "Huh? What?" The young blonde said, blinking, with a bewildered look upon her face. "You coming or what?" Paine spoke as she walked down the dirt road. "There's a surprise for Yuna."

Anger filled her, but she quickly shook it off, and then followed Paine. They walked into Wakka and Lulu's house and Yuna's eyes widened. "Tidus!" She said with great emotion as she wrapped her arms around her love. "I missed you so much!" Tidus wrapped his arms around her waist. "I missed you too, Yuna." He said softly into her ear. "I have so much to tell you!" Yuna said as she got out of Tidus' grip, grabbed his hand and took him out of the house.

Tidus brushed past Rikku without saying anything, causing her to feel cold and hallow. _He didn't even notice me..._ Rikku felt tears form in her eyes as she turned around and walked out of her friend's house.

"Mad sa ib (Let me up)!" She yelled to her brother in the large, red airship. Brother opened the door and she ran into the cabin and sat on one of the beds. Rikku leaned back, rested her head on the pillow, and drifted off into a slumber.

When she awoke, her green eyes gazed out the window. The sun was hidden behind dark grey clouds. Rikku's ear twitched as she heard the sounds of sobs. Curiosity filled her as she got off the bed and walked down the stairs. "Tidus?" She said to him as he sat in the chair, crying. "What's wrong? What happened?" She ran over to Tidus and sat besides him. "It's...It's Yuna." His voice trailed off.

Rikku placed her hand on his arm. "What about Yunie? What happened to her?" Tidus turned his head so he was looking at Rikku. His blue eyes were filled with tears. "She's...She's...' He mouthed the word 'dead' as his voice vanished. "She what?" She couldn't read his lips. Rikku placed her other hand on his other shoulder and shook him. "Tell me! Please, Tidus!"

Tidus cried harder and placed his head on his friends shoulder. "She's...Yuna's..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Then as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by the sounds of the sliding doors opening. "She's dead." Gippal said. He walked over to them, and sat down in a chair, next to Rikku.

Her eyes widened as tears formed and ran down her cheeks. "How! When!" She recalled wanting to be Yuna and thinking about all these bad things over the past couple of days, only so she could be with Tidus, but know she wished she never thought that. Her cousin, and best friend was gone, and Rikku wished it was her, instead of Yuna.


	2. Something Unexpected

A/N: I have no clue how they do funerals in Spira, so I just did it the way I though. And it was a lot of fun typing up Barkeeps part. For all you know, he could become the main character in some fan fic soon XD

Chapter 2

Rikku cried into Gippal's chest, leaving Tidus to sob alone. Gippal wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "While you were asleep, a storm came in. Tidus and Yuna were at the beach, and I guess she was strucked by lightning and..." Gippal didn't want to finish his sentence. He didn't like talking about her death, hell anyone's death. He ran his fingers through Rikku's blonde hair. "I'm sorry..." Gippal whispered into her ear, as tears began to fall down his face.

"You shouldn't even be talking about her! You barely knew her!" Tidus yelled as he pushed the chair onto the ground in pure frustration. Then, without thinking, he pulled Rikku out of Gippal's arms and grabbed him by the shirt. "Don't talk about her if you don't know her!" Gippal pushed Tidus away and walked over to Rikku. "I didn't know her for as long as you, but she was still my friend. And if Yuna was here.-" Suddenly a hand flew over his mouth. "Let's just go. He needs to be left alone right now." Gippal nodded and walked out of the room, with his arm around Rikku's waist.

A few men lifted Yuna's deceased and burnt body onto the wooden boat. Many people came to watch their savior drift down the river, and be apart of Spira's land forever. The men pushed the boat into the river, and lit it on fire as sobs could be heard.

Rikku turned her head, unable to watch her cousin burn. It was a tradition in Spira, but she couldn't bear to watch. Gippal noticed how torn she was and placed his arms around her. "It's going to be alright. I'm here...to comfort you and protect you." He placed his lips on the top of her head. "I'll be here when you need me."

Rikku smiled warmly. She knew she could turn to someone, someone she cared for. But what about Tidus? Would he have someone to turn to? Rikku's green eyes moved about, looking for her blonde friend. Eventually, she mover her head around. Gippal looked at her with a strange look, but quickly smiled. "Just stand still for a bit." He said as he placed his hand on her head and gently pushed her head onto his chest.

Tidus could see Rikku looking around in the corner of his eye as he watched the boat that contained his love, burn to a crisp. He fought back tears. He didn't want to draw any attention to himself.. He looked away from the burnt boat and saw Rikku, in Gippal's arms. Jealousy filled him. True, he did love Rikku, but not as much as Yuna. Tidus cared for the young Al Bhed deeply, and didn't want to see her in the arms of another man.

When the service ended, Rikku was still in Gippal's arms, crying. "I can't believe she's gone!" Were the only words that would leave her mouth. Gippal's grip around her tightened. "E ghuf. E ghuf. (I know, I know.)" He looked up as he heard footsteps come closer. "Let go of her..." Tidus said in a serious manner. "Let her go, now!" Rikku turned her head and saw the anger in his eyes. "Why should I! She needs me now!" Gippal replied.

"Let go of her now!" Tidus yelled as he punched Gippal, just missing Rikku's arm. Her eyes widened as she watched Gippal fall onto the sand. "Gippal!" Rikku knelt down besides him, then looked up at Tidus, with a look of disgust on her face. "What is wrong with you Tidus!" Gippal got up before Tidus could answer his question. "Ku du dra yencreb.(Go to the airship)" He said with a serious look upon his face. "Huf... (Now...)" Rikku shook her head. "Hu! E's hud kuehk du mayja oui dfu uid rana cu oui lyh gemm ouincamjac! (No! I'm not going to leave you two out here so you can kill yourselves!)" Rikku walked over to Tidus. "Just let me talk to him. Like I needed you, he needs me right now."

Tidus brought Rikku into the cabin on the Celsius. He sat on one of the beds and she sat next to him. "Rikku, there's something I want to tell you, but I don't know if I can..." Tidus said looking down at the floor. "Rikku placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me." Tidus looked up at her. Her beautiful smile was on her face, like always. He smiled back at her. "Rikku, I love Yuna. You know that. But I-" He couldn't get 'love you' to come out of his mouth. Instead, he leaned towards her and placed his hand on her chin. He pulled her closer with his free hand and placed his lips on her, kissing her passionately.

Rikku's eyes widened as he kissed her. She should be happy, shouldn't she? She has the man she loves kissing her, but she's not happy. Rikku's grown to love that cocky Al Bhed, Gippal over the years, and she knew he loved her too. But, if Gippal ever found out about this, Gippal would kill Tidus.

Barkeep walked out of the room, not making a sound. "Mishter Brother." He said as he entered the room, interrupting his and Gippal's conversation. "Mishter Tidush ish in the cabin with Missh Rikku." Gippal raised his eyebrow. "What are they doing?"

"He jusht kisshed her."


End file.
